Chapter 44: Destroying the Past

All sorrows inevitably leave behind a thread of joy. Every regret always preserves a perfect corner somewhere.

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"Must you obsess over this matter? If you find it amusing, please continue; I won't indulge you any longer!" Xue Zuining turned her face away coldly, drew up the quilt, and slipped beneath the covers.

In the eerie silence, the previously quiet phone suddenly rang out, startling Xue Zuining into a reflexive reach. Yet, as always, the man behind her snatched it up a step ahead.

"Chen Sang?" Lu Huaining stared at the name flashing on the screen, his cold gaze as if determined to freeze the disobedient woman before him. The curve of his lips twisted in mockery. "So it’s an old lover inviting you—no wonder you cling to these photos to reminisce!"

"Lu Huaining, give me the phone—please, I beg you. He’s drunk, I..."

"You’re worried something might happen to him?" Lu Huaining interrupted her feeble protests without a trace of warmth.

His frosty fingertips lifted her chin, forcing Xue Zuining to meet his piercing gaze. "This ringtone is indeed persistent, but everything has its order. Our issues remain unresolved—so your old lover will have to wait."

He tapped her cheek twice, his eyes sweeping over her angry expression, then slid his finger across the screen, cutting off the call.

"Lu Huaining!" She cried out with all her strength, her voice ragged and desperate. She watched him carelessly toss the ended phone onto the sofa at the foot of the bed, then rise—only to be thrust back onto the mattress by his furious hand.

"Clearly, people are more important than photographs. Since keeping this trash is a waste of space, let me help you dispose of it."

With one swift motion, the once intact photo became two shattered halves.

"No—" Xue Zuining lunged from the bed, but Lu Huaining didn’t even glance at her as he deftly tore the photo to shreds, scattering the fragments into the air like broken snow.

She crashed heavily onto the floor, her face landing amidst the fragments. Forcing herself upright, she gathered the fluttering pieces in her hands. He crouched beside her, their reflections merging, his cold fingertips gently tucking away her stray hair. "Tell me, have you missed him all this time? But the man is alive—what’s the point of looking at photos?"

Xue Zuining watched as he smiled and pried her fingers apart one by one, ruthlessly taking the fragments from her palm, stripping her of dignity, then rising with arrogant indifference.

Lu Huaining left her nothing with which to express her emotions—not even the remaining books in the cabinet. He opened the door; Xiaoyu stood anxiously at the stairway, clearly awakened by the commotion upstairs and embarrassed, uncertain how to proceed. Seeing him emerge, she hurried forward.

Lu Huaining handed over the books and fragments. "Burn what can be burned. Anything else, flush down the toilet."

He didn’t wait for a reply, turning and slamming the door shut.

Xue Zuining gazed at Xiaoyu’s helpless face as the door closed, kneeling on the floor, tears falling as she laughed.

Lu Huaining glanced down at her. "Planning to spend the night on the floor?"

"Heh..." Xue Zuining’s laughter was bleak. "Lu Huaining, do you know what the biggest piece of trash in this house is? It’s you! You are the trash!"

"Ah—" Her long hair was yanked up by his furious hand, yet Xue Zuining felt no pain. "Lu Huaining, torture me—only this satisfies your twisted desires. You devil, you’ll never die well!"

Lu Huaining longed to tear apart this woman whose every word cut so deeply. How sweet her lips sounded for her old lover—and how venomous for him, like cobra’s poison, wishing him a swift, agonizing end under her curse.

She saw his hand rise again; bracing for another merciless slap, she was instead hurled to the floor, pain blooming in her elbow.

Lu Huaining sat down, lit a cigarette, letting nicotine cool his boiling mind. After a long pause, he spoke quietly, "Do you want to know what would happen if I discovered you and Chen Sang still kept in touch?"

What outcome? She wanted to know, but dared not speak, remaining silent as he continued.

"First, he won’t get his master’s degree. Second, no gallery in City A will dare exhibit his work—but he can always change careers. Third, perhaps one day an accident will cost him the right hand he relies on as an artist. Fourth..."

Xue Zuining stared at this terrifying man, his every method stripping away another’s right to live. Anger surged in her gaze until she pounced like a furious leopard, clawing for his throat. "Devil! I’ll kill you! Kill you—"

Lu Huaining easily shook her off; with one movement, he pinned her beneath him. "You want to perish with me? Overestimating yourself." He gently smoothed her disheveled hair, his voice distant as if echoing from the depths of hell. "Xue Zuining, you are nothing but a commodity I purchased at a high price—a commodity! Do you understand? You don’t even have the right to refuse me, yet you dream of overthrowing me. Are you immature, or was everything just now merely my illusion?"

As the buttons of her pajamas were undone one by one, Xue Zuining, like a furious cat, scratched at him with venomous hatred.

Lu Huaining dodged swiftly, yet pain flared on his neck from her assault. His icy gaze locked onto the wild woman, grabbing a belt and binding her flailing hands tightly. Her violent struggles and fierce words left him no time to think; he bent down, his lips and teeth ravaging hers, biting and devouring each other’s blood.

Yet they remained unaware that blood mingling was, in its own way, a form of fusion.